Album Reviews : Sanzu – Painless

Sanzu are a progressive death metal band from Perth, WA. The band is set to release their debut 5-track EP Painless on April 11, while also hosting an EP launch gig at the Rosemount hotel in North Perth on the same day.

I have recently felt that I’ve been struggling to find new death metal interesting. Mainly due to the fact that the genre seem to be very popular at the moment and I find that many new death metal bands pretty much sound the same. I wasn’t quite convinced that Sanzu was my thing after having heard the EP for the first time, it didn’t sound like something I hadn’t heard before.

However, I discovered another layer to the music the second and the third time I gave the EP a spin. Sanzu is like a fusion between Morbid Angel and Gojira and the slightly prog twist is interesting and sets them apart from other bands in the same genre. It’s not truly ground-breaking, but there are flashes of brilliance here and there. I feel that the guitars in particular are the standout element. The fact that this is a debut EP makes this band an interesting find, I feel like they have a lot potential and it doesn’t feel like the band would have any problems with creating a quality full length record.

I’m very impressed with the production of the EP and the artwork looks great. The single “For All” is the standout track and I feel that it paints a pretty good picture of what the EP is like, give it a listen and if you like it, buy Painless!

Martin is an aspiring music photographer/videographer. He is originally from the southern parts of Sweden and now he's living in Sydney, Australia. Thanks to his older sister, he got into Rammstein at the age of 9, and since then he's been into all types of metal/rock. He loves to combine photography and music, but also filming concerts and produce live material. Follow him on Twitter and check out his website.